Psychologist, lecturer, researcher

Geriatric porn? Tom Ford’s Forever Love

It’s rare to see images of older people caught in the throes of passion. That’s why I like Tom Ford’s spread Forever Love, which featured in the December 2010 edition of Vogue Paris (Ford was the guest editor).

It’s raw. It’s edgy. And it’s been light-heartedly referred to as ‘geriatric porn’.

It is easy to see why. The photographs are different to the (small number of) images that usually represent sexuality and older people. Sexual activity is depicted by Ford in a similar way to that of younger people. The passion, pleasure, and impulsiveness are clear to see. And the usually hidden old sexual body is visible (although not as visible as the young sexual body would be).

Here’s what Ford had to say:

“I am tired of the cult of youth. The cultural rejection of old age, the stigmatization of wrinkles, grey hair, of bodies furrowed by the years. I am fascinated by Diana Vreeland, Georgia O’Keeffe and Louise Bourgeois, women who have let time embrace them without ever cheating. Society today condemns this, me, I celebrate it. For this session of fine jewellery, I imagined a man and a woman who had been together for a long time, faithful to each other and always incandescent with desire.” *

It’s interesting that Ford made this point given his open love of Botox and fillers. But as a leading name in fashion he is helping to change attitudes towards older people and sex: to move it away from being a taboo. And it’s great to see older models in the pages of this high profile fashion magazine. I’m guessing they were too risqué to make it to the front cover!